Never sparred an active pro thank god.Steve collins put me in the ring with him when i was 14 my dad was sparring with him in tommy donnellys gym in dublin he gave me a few tips also a few jabs to my forehead,iv moved around with some national champions who later had unsuccessful pro careers,last year in lanzarote i shared a ring with tony bellew just shadowboxing i was in awe of him his size power tecnique,it was funny i weight 145lbs im 5,11 hes like 175 i think 6ft plus while i was moving around with him he just looked so big and hard to hit and i couldnt believe i was 1year older than him i looked like a teen in there with him.

Yes, sparred quite a few when I was amateur. To those that have never sparred or boxed competitively before, it's really an evened out playing field when sparring a pro because the gloves are so big and you have head gear.

It's good work for both because you get that slick amateur style against a more experienced pro.

Joan Guzman,Tito Bracero, Ashley Theophane at Gleason's and Will Rosinsky at New legend's boxing gym which now closed down as well as Camacho Jr. At Church street boxing gym. A handful of others as well but prospects who are less known. The major difference is the footwork compared to sparring or fighting other amateurs. Amateurs don't hit THAT hard co.pared to pros because most amateurs are on their toes and eager to get in and out where as in pros will buckle down and make you miss and pay while standing right in front of you, around you, whatever. The point is that they're a lot more stable.

it's really an evened out playing field when sparring a pro because the gloves are so big and you have head gear.

It's good work for both because you get that slick amateur style against a more experienced pro.

you make it sound like it's a cake-walk to spar and be hit with those big gloves with headgear on, man that **** hurts.

an even playing field is when 2 men have similar skill levels. it may seem even to some but if those pros opened up on you, even with those big gloves, chances are great that you would leave the gym with in a confused state of mind with the taste of blood in your mouth.

Pretty straight forward. Has anyone ever sparred a pro boxer as an amateur?

I have and I'm ashamed to say I was hurt by a straight right hand. Landed right on my mouth, I saw stars and my eyes watered immediately. I had to take a break after that hit. Dude hit extremely hard but he had been boxing for about 4 years before I even sparred him.

Yes. Loads. It's exactly the same as sparring an amateur boxer, the only difference is the professional as acquired a professional licence.

It doesn't mean they are particularly skilled, tough, experienced or hard hitting.

Some pro's are absolutely terrible and would be schooled by novice amateurs.

Back in the 90s when I was in my late teens, I sparred a guy with a good amateur pedigree. He was simply matched too hard, too early as a pro and had stoppage losses to decent European class professionals Spencer Oliver, Johnny Armour and Michael Brodie.

He was absolutely superb compared anything we had seen locally in the gym and toyed with us in sparring!

The average half decent professional really is far superior to most guys on the street in a one on one situation.....

Yes. Kickboxing pros I've gotten the better of. Boxing pros, not really rofl. In kickboxing my hands are generally better. In Boxing I can see a pros weaknesses, exploit them once then get my ass tagged for trying it the same way again.

ive only sparred an active professional once and a few kids who eventually went pro who were amateurs at the time..

the pro i sparred was a couple weight classes above me and he took it easy on me..i wore headgear but he didnt. it was more about me learning a lesson by teeing off on him, only to learn how hard it was to hit somebody who was bigger and far more experienced/skilled than me...i would throw solid 1-2's between his peek-a-boo guard and he would somehow completely nullify my force with the slightest movement of his guard.

for the most part though, trainers at my gyms didnt like their professional fighters sparring with amateurs